Category Archives: Cats

Domestic Cats Remain Successful Predators

House cats kill more critters than thought by Elizabeth Weise

While only 30% of roaming house cats kill prey — two animals a week on average — they are still slaying more wildlife than previously believed, according to research from the University of Georgia.
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The cats brought home just under a quarter of what they killed, ate 30% and left 49% to rot where they died.

The carnage cuts across species. Lizards, snakes and frogs made up 41% of the animals killed, Loyd and fellow researcher Sonia Hernandez found. Mammals such as chipmunks and voles were 25%, insects and worms 20% and birds 12%.
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Seeking a window into the hidden lives of cats, the researchers recruited 60 owners in the Athens, Ga., area. Each owner put a small video camera mounted on a break-away collar on the cat in the morning and let the cat out, then removed the camera and downloaded the footage each night.

Interesting data. As I wrote about before you can get your very own cat cam and see what your cat is up to. I posted an interview I did with the engineer that designs and sells the cat cams.

Mountain Lions Returning to the Midwest USA for the First Time in a Century

Cougars Are Returning to the U.S. Midwest after More Than 100 Years by John Platt

Cougars once lived throughout most of the U.S. and Canada but state-sponsored bounties put in place to protect livestock and humans from what were often deemed “undesirable predators” led to the cats’ extermination in the east and Midwest.
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Things started to turn around for the cougar in the 1960s and 70s when, one by one, the bounties were rescinded and states made the animals a managed-game species. Today they are classified as game species in most states and a “specially protected mammal” in California. This allowed their populations first to grow and then to expand their territories.
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Cougars are generalist predators, so LaRue says they can select any habitat with enough prey. They have also been shown to walk hundreds of kilometers in search of new habitat. “They have no problem traveling through cornfields or prairies for long distances if they have to,” she says. But cornfields and prairies aren’t suitable habitat for the cougars to settle in. She says they require forest cover, rugged terrain and dispersal corridors (typically rivers) that allow easy migration for both the cats and their prey.

Mountain Lions are very cool animals. So like our pets but with a size that means they can kill us, if they want. They are not much risk to us though. Occasionally there are attacks (now that the numbers of cougars are growing) but an extremely small number.

Data from the city of Boulder, Colorado:

There has been an average of 0.2 annual human deaths in all of North America from mountain lions between 1900 and 2007. This number is very low compared to annual deaths from black widow spiders (1.4 between 1950-1989), domestic dogs (16 between 1979-1998) and car crashes (45,000 between 1980-2005).

Friday Fun: Kitten and Bunny

Just some fun for your Friday. Enjoy.

Video of Kittens Being Rescued by Their Mother

Repost of this fun cat video and a reminder to thank your mother for all the times she saved you from your version of the slide. Have a happy friday. Maybe you should forward this video to your Mom with a note of thanks and make it a happy one for her too.

Backyard Wildlife: Mountain Lion

Sadly this isn’t my backyard. I would love to see a mountain lion like this. So close. A real wild mountain lion. And I am safe.

Friday Fun: Monkey and Kitten Playing

If somehow you need more to entice you to watch the webcast, there are even cameos by a dog and people. But if you need to know more than kitten and monkey maybe you need to connect to your inner 5 year old self.

Breakfast with Cheetahs, Lions and Gazelles

Breakfast with cheetahs

For ten days I’ll be touring wildlife camps in Namibia and Botswana, accompanying researchers as they gather data on big cats, black rhinos, and elephants. Ecotourism – trips where travelers help preserve the communities they visit – is the fastest-growing segment of the tourism industry. A growing number of small U.S. travel firms have found their niche creating trips that combine some element of giving back with comfortable accommodations that don’t stress the environment.

One company is Classic Africa, which arranges small group trips to wildlife camps in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The firm was founded by Margaret and Pierre Faber, who provide custom trips for about 500 clients a year

I have twice gone on safaris in East Africa (photos from my Kenya safari). They have been absolutely wonderful experiences getting to see vast expanses of natural wildlife is like nothing else I have done. They are costly but if you can afford it they really are quite amazing. While the TV shows exploring these location don’t equal a visit they are pretty great also.

Kittens Reminding You to Thank Your Mother

Fun cat video and a reminder to thank your mother for all the times she saved you from your version of the slide. Have a happy friday. Maybe you should forward this video to your Mom with a note of thanks and make it a happy one for her too.

Friday Fun: Cat Using the Doorbell

Curious cats are the best. This one uses the doorbell to get into the house.

Sphero – the Robotic Ball You Control with Your Smart Phone

A nice, fun gadget for your friday. Sphero is the first ever robotic ball which can be controlled just by using your smart phone.

Developed by the Orbotix Team, you can use sphero in various applications. It is controlled using your smartphone (SDK exist for iOS and Android to let you have some fun hacking new ideas. The size is approximately that of a baseball. It has a customizable LED that allows you to change the glow according to your mood. You can check out more of Sphero features.

Use sphero like an remote controlled car but with a twist of boost mode for a more exciting chase with your pet cat. Yes, Sphero has an application specially designed for cats called the Sphero KittyCam app. Let the cat chase the robot and catch all the cat’s movements in video. You can upload it share the wild reactions of your cat.

Invite a friend over to play with sphero using the mixed reality pong. We all know pong and the developers of sphero found a way to incorporate technology with the classic game. Use your smartphones as your virtual paddle and control the sphero, which acts as your pong ball, to win the game.

Sphero is a fun gadget to have and you do activities like golf, racing and many more. If you want to order you can check out this link and fill up the order form.